Chapter 22
“You’re telling me she’s been here all night?” Reeves asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m sure Gabriel will understand,” Agnes said.
“I wouldn’t be so sure. If you had done something like this when you were growing up, I would have been fit to be tied. If you ask me, he’s very likely to be angry with you for not sending her home right away. I can’t believe you let her stay here.”
“Well, what else could I do?” Agnes asked. “If I had told her she had to leave, I would have no guarantee that she planned to go home at all.”
“You should have escorted her home, of course,” Reeves said.
“Should I?” Agnes raised an eyebrow. “And then what would have happened the next time she got into a fight with her uncle?”
“Maybe she wouldn’t have run away.”
“Or maybe she would and she would have gone somewhere else. To someone who was less reliable than I am.” Agnes folded her arms. “You may disagree with my choice, Reeves, but I stand by it. I kept her safe when she didn’t have anywhere else to go, and that’s all that really matters.
If Gabriel is angry about it, well, that’s his right, but I don’t think I could have done anything differently than I did and still felt like I was handling the matter responsibly. ”
“All right,” Reeves said. “Well, do you think she’ll be down to breakfast soon? We should see about getting her returned to her home as quickly as we can, before…”
There was a knock at the door, sharp and insistent.
“Ah,” Reeves said. “Before that.”
“You think it’s him?” Agnes was alarmed. It was so early.
“Of course it’s him,” Reeves said. “I would brace for displeasure if I were you, Agnes. I don’t imagine he’s very happy about this.
She went to the door, determined to answer it and face whatever Gabriel had to say herself.
After all, she had been the one to make the decision to let Helena stay here, and she couldn’t very well sit back and tell her brother she had the courage of her convictions if she couldn’t even face what she’d done.
But when she saw Gabriel’s face, she felt a flicker of doubt. She had seen him look like this before—in the gentlemen’s club, when that awful Stephen had put his hands on her. She had never imagined this expression would be pointed in her direction, and yet, here it was.
“Gabriel,” she managed.
“Where is she?” he bit out.
“She’s still sleeping. Don’t raise your voice.”
“Excuse me? Don’t you tell me what to do with my voice.” He made as if to walk past her and into the house.
She stepped in front of him, blocking his path. “I will tell you what to do,” she countered. “I’ll ask you to remember that this is my house.”
“And you are harboring my niece within it!”
“Yes, and I’ll happily release her to you,” Agnes said. “But while you’re here, you will respect my home. Now, I’m more than happy to have you come in while we wait for Helena to wake, if you can promise not to make trouble.”
He stared at her. “I don’t know who you think you are, speaking to me like that,” he said. “I know I’ve given you the impression that you and I are friends—perhaps we are. But I am still the Duke of Bellmoor, and you owe me your respect.”
“You have my respect,” she said evenly. “And I am the lady of this house. If you can’t treat me accordingly then you may wait here on the path until Helena can be made ready to leave.
You are entitled to demand her back from me, but you are not entitled to enter my home.
Even your rank doesn’t grant you that power.
So what will it be? Will you be cordial and come inside, or will you wait out here? ”
He gritted his teeth. “Very well,” he said. “But you and I have scores to settle.”
She stepped back and allowed him into the house.
He looked around. “Point me to where I can find her,” he said.
“She’s sleeping, as I told you. When she gets up, I’ll send her with you.”
Gabriel balled his hands into fists. “That isn’t good enough.”
Reeves came into the room. “Your Grace,” he said. “I understand your feelings of concern right now, but I cannot allow you to speak harshly to my sister.”
“No, it’s all right.” Agnes held up a hand. “I’m fine, Reeves. I do want to talk to him about all this. But—Gabriel, you shouldn’t be angry with me. I gave her a place to stay when she needed one.”
“Have you any idea what the past twelve hours have been like for me?” Gabriel demanded. “Can you even imagine it?”
“I wrote you a letter,” she pointed out. “I knew you would worry, so I let you know where she was. That should have solved the issue.”
“Agnes, anybody could have written that letter.” Gabriel raked a hand through his hair.
“She was missing. We had a fight and then she ran off and I had no idea where she could have gone. Yes, I received a letter—but what if someone had picked her up and written that letter? What if she had run off with that boy and written it herself? I suppose she told you about that boy?”
“She told me,” Agnes agreed, her stomach churning. She hadn’t considered what he was saying. Of course, he couldn’t have been sure she’d been the one to write the letter, and now she ached to put his mind at ease. “I told her she needed to listen to you.”
Gabriel sighed. “That’s something, at least.”
“Gabriel, you can trust me,” Agnes insisted. “I have never betrayed you. Not when it comes to Helena. I know how important she is to you.”
“Yes, but you think your ideas are always the right ones,” Gabriel pointed out. “You think she’d do well to grow up and follow in your footsteps. You probably see nothing wrong with the idea of her running away with the son of a solicitor.”
“For heaven’s sake…come into the dining room and sit down,” she said.
To her surprise, he followed her in and took the vacant seat next to Reeves. Reeves signaled one of the servants to bring out a fresh plate of food.
Agnes sat down too. “I understand you were worried,” she said quietly.
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to cause you any strife.
I assumed you would know that the letter was from me.
But you’re right—I gave you no proof of that, and it’s reasonable that you would have apprehensions.
I should have come up with some way to make you feel reassured that I was the one who’d written it. ”
“I just don’t know what you could have been thinking, letting her stay here,” he said. “You should have brought her right back to me.”
“That’s what I’ve been telling her,” Reeves chimed in.
Agnes sighed. “Neither of you can understand this.”
“What can you understand that we can’t?” Gabriel demanded.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be a girl of her age,” Agnes said.
“To feel at once as though you’re growing up, ready to take ownership of your life, and also as though you’re losing what little control you ever had.
She’s getting some of her first glimpses at the world around her.
She’s spotted a young man who has caught her eye—”
“The son of a solicitor!”
“She isn’t thinking of that, Gabriel. She’s just thinking that she’s noticed this young man.
She’s charmed by him, and if she’s right in her perceptions, he may be charmed by her, and that’s never happened to her before.
You can understand how difficult that would be.
And when you tell her it’s very simply not an option, of course she feels cornered. ”
“She still can’t run away from me the way she did!” Gabriel said, slapping his hand down on the table. “Anything might have happened. She has to trust that I know what’s best for her, and that I’m going to do what’s best for her.”
“She does,” Agnes said. “She knows you feel that way. She’s just struggling with it all a little bit.
Be gentle with her, all right? She loves you very much.
She wants to make you happy. She didn’t want to go home last night because she was worried about what you would say when she faced you again. Show her that she can trust you.”
Gabriel closed his eyes. “Maybe you’re right,” he confessed. “It’s such a difficult thing, raising a young girl. Providing her with everything she needs to have the life she deserves. I want to do right by her.”
“You’re doing fine,” Agnes assured him. “She’ll be glad you came for her, I can promise you that. She really wants you to be proud of her, Gabriel. I can tell.”
“I am,” he said quietly. “I just want her to have a good life.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Reeves spoke up. “Why don’t you both spend the day here with us? It would give you and me the opportunity to get to know one another a bit better, and that’s something I’m going to have to insist on.”
“Insist on?” Gabriel repeated. He turned to Agnes. “I see where you get your stubbornness.”
“Not at all,” Reeves countered. “She’s far more stubborn than I am, I don’t mind telling you. Still, spend the day with us. You and your niece could have a bit of a holiday.”
Gabriel looked at Agnes. “Does this invitation come from the both of you?” he asked. “I know this is your house, after all, and I wouldn’t want to disrespect you by accepting an invitation that someone else had put forth on your behalf without your permission.”
“You’re welcome to stay,” Agnes told him. “I’d like to spend a little more time with Helena.”
Gabriel nodded. “Very well,” he conceded. “At least that way she’ll have the opportunity to get a bit more rest. I can tell she must be tired. Usually she would be awake by now.”
“Yesterday was an emotional day for her,” Agnes said. “A lot happened. But she’ll be grateful to wake up and see that you’re here.”
A plate of food arrived and was set before Gabriel, and he tucked into it with gusto.
Agnes was relieved to see him devote himself to eating with such enthusiasm.
It could only indicate that the anger he had felt upon his arrival here had abated.
No one could so thoroughly enjoy their food while they were in a rage.
She turned her attention to her own plate, but her thoughts remained with Helena, who was still upstairs sleeping peacefully.
Helena had an uncle who loved her dearly, but who struggled to understand the perspective of a young lady coming into her own.
But Agnes did understand. She knew what it was like to be where Helena was right now—worried about what the future might bring and uncertain whether anyone would listen when she told them what she wanted from her life.
I can help her, she realized. It isn’t just about giving her a place to stay for a night. Helena came to me because she knew I was the person who would understand her best—and I can give her that. I can be that person.
She would do her best to be the mentor Helena needed for as long as she was in her life—for as long as Gabriel would allow her the privilege of being there.